Masticatory evaluation of anterior open bite malocclusion using the colorimetric capsule method.

This pediatric study aimed to assess the masticatory function of patients with anterior open bite through a method that utilizes colorimetric capsules. The sample consisted of 106 patients aged 7-11 years, of whom 51 presented with anterior open bite (experimental group) and 55 presented with normal overbite (control group). The colorimetric capsules used in this evaluation contained basic fuchsin granules, which were used to produce a solution after they were ground during chewing. Each patient was asked to chew 1 capsule for 20 seconds. The absorbance of the obtained solutions was analyzed with a spectrophotometer. Greater masticatory efficiency is directly related to the greater light absorbance of a solution, since light absorbance increases with solution concentration. A nonparametric Wilcoxon test indicated that the solutions obtained from the control group presented significantly greater light absorbance than did those from the experimental group (P < 0.05). Therefore, children with an anterior open bite exhibited less masticatory efficiency than those with a normal overbite.

Evaluation of the Bolton ratios on 3D dental casts of Brazilians with natural, normal occlusions.

AIM: To evaluate the Bolton ratios in Brazilians with natural, normal occlusions. METHODS: Thirty-five dental casts of Brazilian Caucasians with a natural, normal occlusion from the files of the Postgraduate Program in Orthodontics of the Methodist University of São Paulo were scanned in three dimensions. On the scanned images, the greatest mesiodistal distance of each tooth from right first molar to left first molar was measured with Geomagic Studio 5 software. The Bolton ratios were then calculated. RESULTS: The anterior ratio amounted to 78.66% (SD ± 2.72) and the total ratio to 91.58% (SD ± 2.20). CONCLUSION: The anterior, but not the overall, ratio was significantly different from the ratio suggested by Bolton.